Chapter 1687: Radiant King Qi Huang

The vast divine rain of light seemed endless. Wherever it landed, Others were vaporized. The corruption that permeated the battlefield began to dissipate. The crowd raised their eyes in surprise, looking at the figure striding over on his road made of light.

Quite a few of the Kings in the Eastern Region Federation were principals of sage colleges. When they recognized who had arrived, their expressions were filled with excitement and they greeted him respectfully.

Qi Huang held a lofty position within the Academic Federation and was known as the Radiant King. Everyone had heard his name at least once after the Origin Reversion War started. His position and presence had become especially important, because no Heavenly Emperors were allowed to assist the divine continents.

Li Luo looked at Qi Huang in surprise. He was like a golden sun, emitting boundless sacred light. He had only ever experienced such a sensation from Jiang Qing'e.

Radiant King Qi Huang. He was a well known individual, even to Li Luo. To his surprise, the Radiant King transformed into a beam of light and appeared before him. The man was well-built and tall, resembling a sturdy mountain and giving off a heavy sense of oppression.

Qi Huang's incandescent eyes released vast amounts of light as he looked at Torch Dragon Underworld King and said, "Torch Dragon Underworld King, you're the Thirteen Underworld Kings' leader, yet you chose to sneak around like a rat, plotting to take down two juniors. Don't you think that's a little shameful?"

The Torch Dragon Underworld King's expression remained indifferent. "Juniors? Have you ever seen such monstrous juniors? Two eighth-grade Transcendent Dukes are joining hands—if I don't take action myself, who else can deal with them?"

Qi Huang was unable to retort, as his opponent wasn't wrong. Only peak Triple Crowned Kings could possibly hope to defeat Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e. Sending anyone weaker was the equivalent of offering them as tribute. Furthermore, not even the Torch Dragon Underworld King himself was guaranteed to defeat them, as seen with what had just happened.

All that could be said was that Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e had become individuals of repute and exceptional strength. Dealing with them wasn't such a straightforward task any longer, and this made the Torch Dragon Underworld King frustrated. He had long wished to attack Li Luo, but the ladder had been in seclusion for a long time.

The Torch Dragon Underworld King wanted to prevent Li Luo's breakthrough and devour his Absolute Resonance Halo. However, he had to consider the looming threat of Li Jingzhe, so he had no choice but wait until the Heavenly Emperor Edict came into full effect and completely expelled all Heavenly Emperors from the divine continents.

Alas, when the opportunity finally arrived, Tantai Lan had advanced into the Ninth Transcendent Duke Stage, completely surprising him and forcing him to hide yet again. In a situation without Heavenly Emperors, ninth-grade Transcendents were unmatched, so the Torch Dragon Underworld King had decided not to attack Li Luo. If he did, he would suffer Tantai Lan's vengeful retribution.

The only choice he was left with was to wait until Tantai Lan left the divine continents. When she finally did, however, Li Luo had emerged as an eighth-grade Transcendent! He had even sent three Triple Crowned Devil Kings packing!

The situation was precarious and the difficulty of capturing Li Luo had increased multiplefolds. Although the Torch Dragon Underworld King felt incredibly unlucky, he would continue to wait patiently for the sake of evolving his Absolute Resonance Halo. Fortunately, the stars finally aligned and he managed to capture both Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e in one fell swoop. And yet the problems continued.

He never expected that the duo were capable of fusing their Authorities of Light together, allowing them to split apart his Authority of Darkness. This bought them enough time for Qi Huang to arrive.

Since the net had been broken and the Radiant King Qi Huang had rushed over, the Torch Dragon Underworld King knew that his plans had been foiled.

The Torch Dragon Underworld King took a deep breath and expressionlessly said, "Qi Huang, aren't you worried about what will happen to the inner divine continents while you're gone? The Divine Continent Federation is wide open to attacks from the Triple Crowned Devil King?"

The battles that raged across the inner divine continents were much more intense than those on the East Divine Continent. The Shadow World had arranged for many top-tier Other Dominions to descend on the inner divine continents, many of which were led by peak Triple Crowned Devil Kings. Dealing with them was the Divine Continent Federation's highest priority.

Qi Huang smirked and responded, "I'm not worried at all. I exchanged blows with some of them and forced them to retreat. I think they will need to recuperate for some time."

The Torch Dragon Underworld King's eyes narrowed. "In that case, do you think they will thank me for keeping you entangled here?"

Qi Huang stood at the apex of the food chain at the moment. However, the Torch Dragon Underworld King was similar to him and was thus unafraid. While he couldn't defeat Qi Huang, he was confident he could tie him down.

"Then we'll have to see how capable you are, Torch Dragon. That said, you must also understand my personality. When I'm angry and I'm forced to choose between hurting my opponent and retreating to safety, I'll do my very best to cripple the enemy regardless of the cost," Qi Huang responded coldly.

He wasn't provoked by his opponent's threat, instead responding in his own domineering way. He truly had a deep understanding of how the Origin Reversion Institute operated, and there was a saying that they embodied almost perfectly: to sit on the mountains and watch the tigers fight, never willing to have any skin in the game.

During the past five years, the Origin Reversion Institute had only incited battles between the Shadow World and the divine continents, never directly engaging in hostilities.

The Torch Dragon Underworld King grinned, clearly unfazed by Qi Huang's words. He knew that it wasn't time to fight. In addition, Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e were right there, ready to join the fray. The two youths who had once been considered puny insects by the Origin Reversion Institute were now veritable threats. At the very least, Qin Jiujie and the Spirit Eye Underworld King wouldn't be able to stop them.

"Qi Huang, I'm not afraid to share this bit of information with you. The Shadow World is planning a major assault, and it will take place soon. I hope that you'll still have the energy to protect these two when that happens," the Torch Dragon Underworld King said.

"You're wrong. They don't need my protection. On the contrary, you're the one who should be afraid. They could enter the Ninth Transcendent Duke Stage any day now. That is the day that your luck runs out," said Qi Huang with a grin.

The Torch Dragon Underworld King indifferently replied, "If only it was so easy to become a ninth-grade Transcendent. Not even the two of us succeeded after so many years."

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Qi Huang didn't agree nor disagree.

The Torch Dragon Underworld King no longer bothered to banter. Since his plan to seize Li Luo had failed, there was no reason to remain here. He shot the two young ones a dirty look, not bothering to leave behind any vicious words. Then he waved his sleeves, causing darkness to flow around him, enveloping him, Qin Jiujie, and the Spirit Eye Underworld King. They vanished instantly.

Qi Huang turned to look at Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e. He first gave Li Luo a smile and explained, "I truly couldn't start an all-out fight against the Torch Dragon Underworld King. After all, I cannot afford to be held here."

Li Luo nodded in understanding.

Qi Huang then turned towards Jiang Qing'e, and his gaze became much more enthusiastic. His eagerness had nothing to do with her appearance nor her gender—it was purely due to the sacred light emanating from her very existence. Her divine power caused even the light resonance within him to rejoice in excitement, and he was taken aback by this intrinsic response.

"Your Excellency Radiant Goddess, I've finally managed to meet you," he said politely as he cupped his hands towards her. Perhaps it was because of the mutual respect he had towards those who followed the Law of Light.

Jiang Qing'e didn't put on airs either and bowed slightly in return. She could sense the Radiant King's attitude and goodwill. After meeting in person, it was clear he only looked at her with a sense of awe.

Li Luo secretly found Qi Huang's attitude towards Jiang Qing'e a little strange. After all, he was considered to be even more senior than Tantai Lan and Li Taixuan. Taking into account Qi Huang's strength and the position he held in the Academic Federation, Li Luo found the respect he was showing Jiang Qing'e quite baffling. It was at this moment that Li Luo's heart suddenly thumped as he was reminded of Jiang Qing'e's true identity.

The quasi tenth-grade light resonance!

The Pill Saint had once said that Jiang Qing'e was the manifestation of the Law of Light walking the world. The Radiant King had followed the Law of Light to its end and thus, when he met Jiang Qing'e, his own light resonance must have responded positively. Perhaps this was the source of the unexpected respect and reverence he was displaying.

In other words, the Radiant King was paying respects to the true Goddess of Light! Could it mean that Qi Huang could also sense what made Jiang Qing'e different? Or perhaps he had realized her true background?